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Mumbai City FC appointed Petr Kratky as their new head coach last Saturday. The Czech-Australian will face his first big challenge when the Islanders travel to Fatorda to take on FC Goa in the Indian Super League on Tuesday.
FC Goa are on top of the league table at the moment, but Mumbai City are not too far behind. They are just three spots off the top position and will want to make the most of this game on Tuesday. The Islanders know that there will be no better welcome gift for Kratky than a win here.
The 42-year-old knows that he has a stern test against the Gaurs ahead of a busy run of fixtures, but the way he approached the media conference ahead of the game said that he was in control.
“I'm excited because I want to see our team against the top sides. If I can see and compare where we are at, it will be much better to understand where we have to go. We have a busy schedule, and we have to be really intelligent and smart in terms of how we handle the team, do rotations and all," said Kratky.
"We have to make sure that the players are ready and perform every three or four days. So, it will be exciting for me as it will be challenging and tough. I think we have a team of professionals, we have a good team and we have good support staff who look after us very well,” he added.
"We are here to compete, perform and win" - Petr Kratky
Kratky knows that Goa are a hard team to beat, and that Fatorda is a near-impossible fortress to breach.
However, he will be aware of the fact that his side has a strong defensive unit that marks its opponents closely and gives very little space to work with.
The likes of Akash Mishra, Mehtab Singh and Rahul Bheke will have to put up a strong shift in their half to ensure that the attackers of FC Goa do not get an opportunity to wreak havoc upon them early on in the game.
“FC Goa have conceded just three goals in seven games. They are a very organized side and we are fully aware of that and we respect the quality. But also, we know our quality and it will be a very good game. They have very good players and they certainly know what they're doing and they're doing it very well," said Kratky.
"We are so looking forward to this game. We are here to compete, perform and win. We know our quality - we stick to it and we will do our best on the day and then the best team on the day will win,” he signed off from the press conference.
